PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Major BHP has announced a number of new measures being put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 amongst its workforce.

The new measures include reducing the number of fly-in, fly-out and drive-in, drive-out workers travelling to regional sites, changing rosters in some regions to reduce workforce movements, and temporarily relocating interstate in order to meet tighter border controls.

The miner on Wednesday said that the actions taken to date have ensured that its global operations have remained largely unaffected by the virus.

BHP noted that among its global workforce of 72 000 people, the company has had a small number of confirmed cases of Covid-19, all of whom were recovering well. The miner noted that all of the individuals who tested positive followed the required protocols of self-isolating and reporting, to avoid putting their colleagues at risk.

There has not been any broader transmission from these cases to other workers, or any impact on sites or operations.

“Our over-riding priority remains to help reduce the risk of transmission and help protect our people and communities. We are absolutely committed to playing our part in the collective response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said CEO Mike Henry.

“The resources industry is one of the few industries that can provide regional jobs, products to customers and payments to suppliers to help underpin continued economic activity.

“We are also working hard to directly support the mental health and resilience of our people and communities, regional health and community services, and the vulnerable in our community as we manage through this difficult period.

“I am proud of the way our people are adapting to new ways of working, including new shift patterns and rosters to reduce movements, social distancing, hygiene protocols and regular health screenings.

“Our customers, suppliers and governments have been instrumental in helping us maintain safe production and operational continuity; we thank them for their support and will continue to work closely with them.”